Argus cited Mr Sjaak Poppe spokesman of port of Rotterdam as saying that steam coal consumption will not rise dramatically in Europe owing to competition from other fuels and government support for alternatives.

Mr Poppe highlights the fact that Germany will remain a growth area for imports as the country's existing mines are gradually closed down. The bulk of German imports are shipped to Rotterdam from where they are taken by barge along the Rhine River or loaded on to trains. Rotterdam, which is home to Europe's largest coal import terminal EMO, handled 12 million tonnes in the first 6 months of the year down by 1% YoY.

He said that steam coal volumes were particularly low in the first quarter but recovered in the Q2 as demand picked up on the back of improved economic activity. Generally, growth in coal consumption in Europe is under threat from greater competition from gas and oil which will stay relatively cheap, Poppe said. And nuclear and renewable power will increase their share of generation capacity on the back of greater government support.

Mr Poppe said that the future of imports through the port depends on the way the economy will develop. But all of the scenarios shared the feature that the growth of coal used for electricity will slow because of competition from other fuels and governments' preference for nuclear and renewable power.

(Sourced from Argus)